Process of desiccating.



C. TELLIER.

PROCESS OF DESIGUATING. APPLIUATIUN FILED JUNE 29, 1911.

1 ,076,923 Patented 0G13. 28, 1913.

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CHARLES TELLIER, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

PROCESS OF DESICCATING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenteaoet. es, 1913.

alipucation mea :une 2s, 1911. serial No. 636,019.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES TnLLmn, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing in Paris, France, have ,invented certam new and useful Improvements in Processes of Desiccating, of which the following 1s a specification. Y

This invention relates to a process for desiccating in a vacuum as completely as possible and in presence of an absorbent, fresh meat, vegetables and in general any moist organic or inorganic material from which a vapor is to be disengaged or dlstilled.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings 1n which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sectional elevation of the whole installation. Figs. 2 and 3 are detail sectional views d rawn to an enlarged scale. Fig. 4. is a sectional detail view `showing a modification.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 consists essentially of a receiver 1, containing the materials under treatment and communicating, through a pipe 2 having a valve 3, with a receiver 4 containing the absorbent material, such as pumice for example. These two receivers in which a perfect vacuum should be possible are on'this acl count not exposed to the free atmosphere but are surrounded by two boxes or envelops of sheet iron or brick-work 5, 6. These twoV boxes communicate with each other through a duct 7 which, if necessary, may contam a partition preventing the liquids contained in the boxes from mixing.

The receiver 4 communicates with one or other of two identical reservoirs 8, 9 con taining concentrated solution of potash, which-when valve 3 is closed is allowed. to

How on to the l pumice in receiver 4 from a the funnel t e cock 15 is closed. Instead of the funnelthere may be a rubber tube connected with one or other ofthereservoirs 8 and 9, (Fig. 1).

For control 1 is surmount the operation the receiver by a short tube of large cross section 16 which contains a threearmed lever pivoted at 17. The arm` 18 carries a weight of 1 kilo; arm 19, which is 1n line with arm 18, carries a suitable weight of the material under treatment, and the arm 20 has a counterweight corresponding with the weight of the quantity of water to be removed in the igeration from the said suitable weight of e material. An indieating rod 21 actuated by a rack and af toothed sector keyed to the turning pivot of the lever moves in a glass tube so that at any moment the loss of wei ht suffered by the materials suspended on t e arm 19 during'the operation can be ascertained.

The materials under treatment are arranged on'a metal rack 22 contained in the receiver 1 and covered by the cover 23 which carries a shot pipe 16. This cover merely rests on the receiver, a tight rubber washer being interposed. The receiver 4 is full of solution of potash impregnating the pumice and under these conditions, the valve 3 being closed, it sullices to make the vacuum as complete as possible. For this pnrpose the receiver 1 communicates throu liy tube 24 with an air pump not shown in t e drawing. The cover 23 being applied to the receiver 1 by atmospheric pressure, as soon as a vacuum is made completely closestle receiver. Water is then run into the` boxes 5 and (j through a three-way cock 25 so as to insure absolute tightness to the a paratu's. The overflow 26 limits the leve water. The vacuum is nowrto be made as complete as possible and for this purpose the receiver 1 is put into communication through pipe 24 with a reservoir of carbon dioxi such as a bottle containing the liquelied as-or a gas holder charged from vessels 1n which a carbonate is being decomposed. When the carbon dioxid has attained the ordinary pressure in the receiver,

the cock 27 is closed. The pump is' now putcarbon dioxid and a small nepnrtion of air.

The pump is now'stoppe and valve 3 is opened. .At the same time a small pump 28 of thisl draws the solution of potash through pipe 29 and lifts it through pipe 30 into reservoir use and the 8 or 9 according to the position of the threeway cock 31 in this pipe 30. The receiver 4 is thus emptied of liquid, save that which is absorbed in the pumice. The latter, owing to its large surface, absorbs with great ease the atmosphere from receiver 1 composed, as already stated, chieiiy of carbon dioxid which combines with potash, leaving an almost perfect vacuum in the apparatus. The operation may be repeated a certain number of times until an absolute vacuum has been attained, but in practice a single operation suilices. After the carbon dioxid there passes over intothe receiver 4 an aqueous vapor from the materials under treatment, which vapor is absorbed by the potash. In order to render this absorption continuous the cock 11 is opened, so that a stream of potash flowing through the distributer 12 washes the pumice which thus maintains its absorbingpower, while the pump 28 is continually operated and returns the liquid into one or other of the reservoirs 8, 9. These two reservoirs are necessary to ease the Working, for one contains the solution under other receives that which is supplied by the apparatus for concentrating the solution of pOtaSh. The latter apparatus may be of any suitable kind.

The operation entails condensation of aqueous vapor and the solution has a tendency to' become hot. In order to maintain it at the best temperature for absorption there may be arranged in each reservoir 8, 9 a serles of tubes 32, traversed by cold water entering at 33 and issuino at 34. To insure that the whole surface ot-J these tubes is operative each of the tubes has at its exit end an orifice of proportions calculated to compel the water to ydistribute itself equally to all the tubes and in conse uence to use complettely their capacity or interchanging Al-layer of troleum covers the solution or potash'in t e reservoirs 8, 9 to avoid absorption of carbon dioxid from the atmosphere.

A gage 35 on each reservoir 8, 9 shows the .extent to which the solution has increased in volume. A test cock 36 enables samples to be drawn from the solution that is at work,

for the purpose of ascertaining its degree of dilution. By these means the de e of hydration of the potash may be used instead of the balance lever aforesaid for ascertaining the quantity of water withdrawn from the materials.

. Steam may be injected into the box 5 through cock 37 to prevent too much chilling of the materials bemg dried. The excess of water of condensation from this steam ows away through the overflow 26. A heating worm immersed in the box 5 may be used instead of the steam injector 37 but it is more complicated.

A crane 38 running along a girder 39 serves for lifting the cover 23, placing it on the box 6, removing the rack 22,*placing it at 40 where it is unloaded, taking up a freshly charged rack 41, bringing this into the receiver 1 and finally replacing the cover 23. These operations do not stop the workmg.

There may be placed side by side several apparatus analogous to 1 and 4. For dimin- -ishing the lengthl of the girder 39 it is preferable to place them at an angle of 90 from the position indicated on the drawing.

In large installations instead of the vertical receiver 1, horizontal receivers lnay be used and instead of racks small wagons may run on rails. The thermometer 42 serves for controlling the tem erature o the vapor' produced and for deci ing whether steam 1s to be injected through cock 37. Calcium chlorid may'also be used as absorbent..

It is also possible to condense directly by means of cold' water or artificial cooling. For this purpose a heat interchanger (Fig. 4) is inserted by means of its connections 44 in the joints 43 of Fig. 2. This apparatus comprises a bundle of tubes 45 -commumcating at one end with chamber 46; the vapor entering through tube 2 passes freely into the tubes 45 which are open at both ends. A current of very cold water, enters through pipe 47 and leaves through pi 48 having passed around the tubes 45. A undant condensation is produced in tubes 45 and the condensed liquid flows into the chamber 49 whence it may be withdrawn through a pipe 50 by a pump not shown in the drawing but Vanalogous. to pump 28. This mode of operation is the most simple and the most economic, especially if there is a supply of water of a templerature below 10 C. With a freezing mac ine one may operate with water at 0 C. or even at a lower temperature but the condenser should be' arranged to allow of the extraction of the ice so as to diminish the cost of the operation to almost nothing.

An ejector on the tube 2 may be 'used instead of the air pump and in this case it is advantageous to use the water of condensation from the tubes 45. In large installations it is important to feed the water deprived of air and recover from the tubular condenser, (Fig. 4) directly to a steam boiler.

Having thus described my invention and the best means I know of carrying the same into practical eect, .what I claim 1s:-

1. `A process for desiccating fresh meat, vegetables or any other moist organic or inorganic materia which recess consists in replacin -,the air aroun the material by carbon dioxid and conducting the desiccation in a vacuum as vperfect as possible in pres-V ence of an absorbent o 'l the carbon dioxid, the vacuum being maintained during the whole of the desiccating operation.

2. A process for desiccating fresh meat, vegetables or the like, which consists in withdrawing the air from contact with the meat, surrounding said I'neat by an atmosphere of anhydrous gas and withdrawing said gas.

A process for desiccating fresh meat, vegetables or the like, which consists in withdrawing the air from contact with the meat, surrounding said meat by an atmosphere of anhydrous gas and withdrawing said gas and absorbing the residual gas by an absor -V ent of the gas.

4. A process for desiceating fresh meat, vegetables or the like, which consists in witl1 drawing the air from contact with the meat, replacing said air by an atmosphere of carbon dioxid and withdrawing said carbon dioxid.

5. A process for desiccating fresh meat, vegetables or the like,^which consists in withurawing the air from contact with the meat, replacing said air by an atmosphere of carvdrawirmf the air from contact with the meat,

replacing said air by an atmosphere of carbon dioxid and withdrawing sald carbon dloxid and absorblng the residual carbon dloxid by a solution of potash.

7. A process for desiccating .fresh meal, vegetables or the like, which consists in with drawing the air from contact with the meat, replacing said air by an atmosphere of carbon dioxid and withdrawing said carbon dioxid and absorbing the residual carbon di oxid by a solution of potash absorbed in finely divided pumice-stone. Y

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of t-wo subseribing witnesses.

CHARLES TELLIER. Witnesses H. C..Cox1i,

GABRIEL Biermann. 

